Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Vikings WR Jordan Addison (ankle) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. That seemingly gives him a chance to play vs. the Packers on Sunday night. We'll see what Addision does on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report.

Texans Edge Jonathan Greenard has missed the first two practices of the week after spraining an ankle in Sunday's loss to the Browns. That has him looking unlikely to play this week against the Titans. We'll watch for confirmation on his status Friday but have removed Greenard from the Week 17 rankings. Houston looks likely to also miss rookie edge Will Anderson Jr. for the third straight game. Anderson also has yet to practice this week while nursing his own ankle injury.

The Vikings have announced that QB Jaren Hall will start over Nick Mullens this Sunday night against the Packers. That comes after Mullens tossed 4 INTs in a 6-point Week 16 loss to Detroit. HC Kevin O'Connell originally had Hall as the backup to Kirk Cousins and started the fifth-round rookie in the first game after Cousins' season-ending injury. But O'Connell then stuck with QB Joshua Dobbs even after Hall returned from his concussion, and then rolled out Mullens after Dobbs' 4-INT turn against Chicago. This week's move says O'Connell believes Hall to be a better option than Mullens. But the rookie clearly remains unproven. He has thrown just 10 regular-season passes. The preseason found him completing just 54.2% of his passes at 5.5 yards per attempt. Hall does bring above-average speed for the position and topped 300 rushing yards in each of his final two seasons at BYU. But starting a QB in what would be his first full NFL game would obviously be very risky. The bigger question is what the switch does to WR outlooks. We'd still start Justin Jefferson comfortably. K.J. Osborn, meanwhile, is tougher to like inside WR3 territory. (He already landed as a WR4 in our Week 17 rankings.)

Vikings WR Jordan Addison (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport labeled him "week-to-week" on Monday, so the rookie seems unlikely to play vs. the Packers on Sunday night. Addison's absence would leave K.J. Osborn as Minnesota's No. 2 WR -- and a solid target bet with TE T.J. Hockenson also out.

On Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed that Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson tore his right ACL and MCL in Sunday's loss vs. the Lions. That ends Hockenson's phenomenal season. The veteran pass-catcher posted a position-leading 127 targets and 219 PPR points (a career-best) through Week 16. We'll see about his chances of making it back for the start of 2024. But his long-term dynasty value should still largely remain intact. Be sure to keep up with us throughout the offseason as more information becomes available. Hockenson's injury likely means more playing time for TEs Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt. They saw near-identical playing time against the Lions, with Mundt getting the edge in snaps (23-21) and targets (3-2). The presence of both makes neither especially attractive for fantasy purposes. WR K.J. Osborn probably gains the most fantasy relevance.

The initial outlook on Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson's injured knee is "not good," a source tells ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Hockenson is getting an MRI on the knee today, so we should learn more soon. Fantasy owners should be planning on Hockenson missing the rest of the season.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport labeled Vikings WR Jordan Addison "week-to-week" with the ankle injury that knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Vikings. The rookie is scheduled for additional testing on Monday. It's worth noting that HC Kevin O'Connell said after yesterday's game that Addison might be able to push through this injury. But, at least for now, fantasy owners should plan on being without Addison in Week 17 lineups.

There was a lot of chatter entering Week 16 surrounding the potential increase in Vikings RB Ty Chandler’s workload. Sunday’s game against the Lions didn’t see the second-year back dominate in the box score (8 carries, 17 rushing yards), though there is some good news that came from the contest. Chandler did find the end zone, which salvaged his fantasy contributions to a small degree, and teammate Alexander Mattison was almost completely uninvolved (2 carries, -1 yard). It’s clear that HC Kevin Stefanski’s comments from earlier in the week proved to be truthful. Chandler has certainly become the Vikings' RB1. Fantasy managers who survived and advanced to Week 17 should be comfortable going back to Chandler in lineups. The Packers rank 23rd in run defense DVOA this season and as the 10th-best RB matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. It’s a good spot for him to net low-end RB2/flex-level value.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson injured his right knee in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Lions and was ruled out just a short time later. We'll look for further updates on the severity of the injury and Hockenson's timetable for return.

Vikings WR Jordan Addison hurt his ankle in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Lions. He's officially questionable to return. We'll update the rookie's status when we know more.

Update: Addison has been ruled out.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Kevin Seifert reported that Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell spoke firmly about RB Ty Chandler being the team's primary back. "We're kind of building with the mindset that [Chandler] is going to be a guy we're trying to get the ball to a lot, both in the run and the pass," said O'Connell, adding that the potential availability of RB Alexander Mattison (ankle) will "be a huge bonus for the depth" at the position. It doesn't take much reading of the tea leaves to gather that Mattison has lost a grip on leading this backfield in touches whenever he returns from injury. Managers in season-long formats who picked up Chandler off of the waiver wire should be thrilled about his prospects of yielding a significant workload in Week 16 vs. the Lions, and seemingly beyond. See where Chandler lands in our latest RB rankings.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell announced Monday that QB Nick Mullens will start Sunday's game against the Lions. That's not a surprise after Mullens threw for 303 yards and 2 TDs in the Week 15 OT loss at Cincinnati. He also tossed 2 INTs but ranked among the top one-third of QBs for the week in expected points added per play. Mullens will carry some upside against a Detroit D that has struggled at times against the pass, but don't expect him to land among our top 12 fantasy QBs for Week 16.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Monday that RB Ty Chandler "is absolutely a guy that is going to see a featured, featured role in our offense." Chandler gave the Vikings their best rushing performance of the season in Saturday's loss to the Bengals, ripping off 132 yards and a score on 23 carries. We'll see whether RB Alexander Mattison can make it back from his ankle injury for this weekend's game vs. the Lions, but it sounds like we should expect Chandler to lead the backfield regardless. He, of course, will be a much stronger fantasy play if Mattison remains out.

Packers RB Aaron Jones drew 13 of Green Bay's 17 rushing attempts in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. That marked an 86.7% share of RB carries for the game. Jones led the backfield with 4 targets as well, but he actually trailed RB Patrick Taylor in routes. Jones also led Taylor by just 4 total snaps. It amounted to Jones basically taking the place of AJ Dillon -- who missed the game with a thumb injury. That's surprising because Jones has seen strong receiving usage throughout his career. Green Bay gets a high-upside RB-scoring matchup with Carolina in Week 16. That will help Jones' outlook, regardless of Dillon's status. But Sunday's usage adds some uncertainty to Jones' touch outlook.

Packers RB Aaron Jones (knee) is active for today’s game vs. the Bucs. RB A.J. Dillon (thumb) is inactive, leaving RBs Patrick Taylor and Kenyan Drake behind Jones. There’s certainly a chance that Jones dominates work today, but the Packers might also limit his work in his first action since Week 11. He carries a wide range of outcomes this week: a RB3-level floor to a RB1-level ceiling.

Packers RB Aaron Jones (knee) is expected to play vs. the Bucs today, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. No word yet on whether RB A.J. Dillon will play through his broken thumb. Dillon's absence would add upside to Jones -- although we'd be surprised if the Packers gave Jones a huge workload in his first action since Week 11.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is active for today's game vs. the Bengals. Jefferson was taken to the hospital last Sunday after taking a hard hit to the chest, but he dodged any severe injury. Earlier in the week, he said he expects to play a normal allotment of snaps. Check the WR Rankings to see if he cracks WR1 range alongside new QB Nick Mullens.

Packers RB Aaron Jones (knee) is questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Bucs. He remained limited in practice all week but “did what he needed to do” on Friday, HC Matt LaFleur said. We’re tentatively expecting Jones to play this weekend, but he probably won’t get a full slate of snaps in his first action since Week 11. See where Jones lands in this week’s RB Rankings.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (chest) is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game vs. the Bengals. He practiced all week, including a full workout on Thursday, and is fully expected to play this weekend. Jefferson can be penciled into Week 15 fantasy lineups. Just check back to make sure he’s active around 11:30 am ET on Saturday.

Packers RB Aaron Jones (knee) was limited in Wednesday's practice, while RB A.J. Dillon (thumb) was sidelined. We're tentatively projecting both guys to play vs. the Bucs this weekend, but we'll keep you updated on their statuses over the next few days.